Sports Health is pleased to present the Interscholastic SportsCARE blog. This blog presents information on useful sports medicine topics for the scholastic athletic trainer, parents, and athletes alike. It is written by experienced athletic training and medical professionals, and articles cover a wide range of topics including MRSA, diabetes, using AEDs, and includes real-life examples and original tips. You are invited to read, subscribe, and submit your thoughts.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

61 Famous Athletes with Diabetes + Tips for the Diabetic Teen Athlete

About the Diabetic Teenaged Athlete

Adolescent diabetics who play sports need to be very good at disease management but also time, food, exercise, rest, illness and fluid management. A diabetic teenager lacks the capacity to control blood glucose without supplemental insulin.

Glucose is the primary sugar circulating in your blood. Normally, after a meal, food gets digested and broken down into easily absorbed molecules, glucose being one of them. Glucose is a simple sugar that comes mostly from the carbohydrate that you eat. It must be present in your blood in sufficient quantity that your brain and nervous system can take it up and use it as their primary fuel.

Teachers, coaches and parents all encourage teens to eat breakfast because “breakfast” is actually “break” and “fast” which means morning blood sugar levels are low due to the fast of not having eaten overnight.

Low blood sugar levels impact brain tissue negatively, causing:

drowsiness

fatigue

lack of attention

mental “drifting”

Not good qualities to have during school or sports!

Exercise is very useful to diabetics as it assist in mainlining good blood glucose control. A successful diabetic teenager who is also an athlete must become very good at organizing and preparing for the unexpected.

Balencing Diet, Exercise, and Diabetes

The interplay between insulin therapy, diet, and exercise is extremely important to athletes with diabetes. The goal is to match the type, amount, and timing of insulin to food intake and activity level. Regular monitoring of blood glucose levels is critical to ensuring that appropriate amounts of insulin are provided and metabolic complications are avoided. When insulin levels are not in balance with need, abnormalities in blood glucose and acid concentration can occur. By adjusting your insulin dose depending on the length and intensity of exercise, control of blood glucose level can be enhanced.

This is a subject you’ll want guidance on from your physician.

Including carbohydrate-containing foods with a low glycemic index can assist with blood glucose control.

Glycemic index is a tool used to rank foods according to their immediate effect on blood glucose levels. Carb-containing foods that are broken down quickly will rapidly release glucose into the bloodstream. These are known as high glycemic index foods. Those that break down slowly gradually release glucose into the bloodstream. These are known as low glycemic index foods, and this latter category can be advantageous for those with diabetes. (www.powerbar.com)

Young diabetics have a great deal to learn about the disease, exercising demands as well as rest, fluids and the type /amount of food eaten.

Exercise is important for all of us, but it is vital to diabetics.

Learn about the condition, speak with your physician often and don’t be afraid...athletes with diabetes have competed successfully on all levels.

61 Famous Athletes with Diabetes

Arthur Ashe - Tennis - Wimbledon winner.

Walter Barnes - Football and actor. Before acting career he played professional football for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, 1948-1951.

Ayden Byle - Runner - First insulin-dependent man to run 6521.5 km across North America.

Nick Boynton - Hockey Player - Boston Bruins.

Doug Burns – Fitness consultant, Record-holding strength athlete.

Sean Busby - Champion Snowboarder.

Bobby Clarke - NHL - Philadelphia Flyers.

Ty Cobb - MLB - Detroit Tigers.

Scott Coleman - Swimmer - first man with diabetes to swim the English Channel.

Phil Hossler, ATC has been an athletic trainer on the scholastic, collegiate and Olympic levels. He has authored 4 books and numerous articles and served as an officer in state and regional athletic training associations for 20 years. He is a member of four halls of fame including the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s.

It sounds like you have to be very aware of your body if you have diabetes. It means that you have to be prepared for emergencies. That's cool that there are so many famous athletes with diabetes. They have learned how to take care of themselves and regulate their insulin well, I'm sure. http://www.diabeteshealth.com/blog/the-history-of-diabetes/

This list is a bit misleading. Only a handful of these people managed diabetes when they were young and still playing sport. The vast majority of them first encountered the condition well after they had finished playing. In some cases the condition destroyed their careers.

I really helpful article, It’s always good idea to carry a portable snack whenever a diabetic student leaves the classroom. This is especially important during fire drills, earthquake drills, field trips, special presentations and assemblies. i need someone to write my dissertation